Icebreaker

The inevitable question comes up: What do you do? The intended meaning being for a "living" (viz. for money). The answer will be interpreted under that Western societal assumption¹.

'I'm a writer.'
'Oh, what have you published;' or, 'Have I heard of your work?'

The conclusion drawn from the answer is that the activity must result in receiving compensation, in this case through the act of publishing, or acknowledgment within certain circles. "Fame and fortune" is very much a Western obsession², and through Google Books one can see the phrase itself has been consistently publicized going back to 1800³.

There is also an identity crisis in the answer. Rather than responding with what one does, the activity becomes the self-definition of who that person is and not simply an activity. 'I am a writer' instead of 'I write.' This also isn't a very accurate portrayal of a personality. Writers may share some common traits, but their chosen genre and syntax reveals much more about their personality than the overarching theme of writing.

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¹ Admittedly, other geographic cultures may be focused on income or fame inducing activities. All cultures likely have activities that are enjoyed without producing income or fame. The question is if discussion centering around remuneration and renown is a ubiquitous human trait or something culturally specific. I would venture that most cultures consider such discussion impolite, which is why Western society dances around what it really wants to know with banalities such as 'What do you do.'

² Although it's probable that each term may hold a different meaning in other cultures, or that the English meaning referenced here is attached to a different word in other languages. In fact, upon translation of the phrase, one can see the following: a steady decline in use in French, negligible usage in Russian, no usage in Hebrew, and peak usage in German in the 1940s followed by a steady decline. Spanish usage showed a steady increase through time, and simplified Chinese ran hard with the phrase beginning in 1980.

³ Consistent over the long-term with a very gradual and bottoming downtrend. Since 1960, the phrase has enjoyed a steady increase in literary use and is currently close to a peak usage not seen since the early 1900s.